Keeping Up with the Joneses

Just after Jeff and Karen Gaffney (Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher) pack their children off for summer camp, mysterious new neighbors Tim and Natalie Jones (Jon Hamm, Gal Gadot) move into their secluded cul-de-sac in an Atlanta suburb. Tim claims to be a travel writer, as well as a master of many languages who blows glass for a hobby; Natalie is an Israeli social-media consultant, enmeshed in food blogging and charity work. But it's obvious from the get-go that the glamorous, sophisticated Joneses aren't who they pretend to be. So Jeff, who works as a human resources counselor at an aerospace defense corporation, and Karen, who dabbles as a home-design consultant, are determined to unmask their real identities. Suspicious Karen follows Natalie to the mall on a lesbian-tinged, lingerie-buying mission, while amiable Jeff lunches with Tim, attempting to bond at a secret, underground Chinese restaurant that specializes in serving live snakes. Once it's established that the Joneses are, indeed, covert operatives, this wannabe satirical action/spy caper goes nowhere at a tedious pace. Lethargically directed by Greg Mottola, this flaccid comedy is not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Spy Game” (12 min.) and “Keeping Up with Georgia” (5 min.), deleted scenes (18 min.), a photo gallery, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a lame comedy.] (S. Granger)